Human Rights

Helping Haiti Heal (2010)

In January 2010, following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Fandom Forward formed a partnership with several other fandom groups to create the Helping Haiti Heal campaign. This project joined Fandom Forward members with Nerdfighters as well as other fandoms including Heroes, Lost, True Blood, The Wire and Firefly. 

Helping Haiti Heal raised money for Partners in Health, who provided aid and relief to Haiti. Partners in Health are an organization with an established base in Haiti  who work to provide health care for impoverished communities across the world by improving health education, access to health care and addressing root social and economic causes in partnership with local communities.

Fandom Forward, along with the Wizard Rock community, Hank and John Green and Maureen Johnson auctions off 100 prizes to raise funds, including books and cards signed by JK Rowling. Within two weeks Fandom Forward had raised over $123,000 for Partners in Health.

With the funds raised through Helping Haiti Heal, Partners in Health were able to charter five planes of medical supplies to Haiti. In honor of Fandom Forward and Nerdfighter communities the planes were named Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore and DFTBA.

Not in Harry’s Name (2010)

Upon learning that Warner Bros. Harry Potter-branded chocolate was being sourced from child slavery in 2008, Fandom Forward embarked on a campaign demanding Fair Trade chocolate instead. Not in Harry's Name follows from the belief that products inspired by the series should not be complicit in the injustices it criticizes.

Fandom Forward partnered with Free2Work, who determined that the chocolate products had earned an F grade for worker conditions that violated human rights. These findings inspired action from hundreds of thousands of fans, from signing petitions to sending letters. The campaign continued for years, with ongoing discussions taking place and contributions from J.K. Rowling, anti-slavery organization Walk Free, and prominent YouTubers.

In late December of 2014, Fandom Forward was notified that Warner Bros. would make all Harry Potter-branded chocolate Fair Trade or Utz certified, marking an unprecedented victory in the realm of fan activism.

Darfur (2007)

In 2007 Fandom Forward began to raise awareness about genocide in Darfur through the Fandom Forward podcast.  The podcast episode about Darfur has been downloaded more than 110000 times. Fandom Forward partnered with STAND on this initiative and STAND reported a 40% increase in high school chapters throughout this initiative. 

In 2008 Fandom Forward took part in the STANDFAST campaign which raised over $6000 in small donations for the Genocide Intervention Network and STAND's Civilian Protection Program. This campaign asked Fandom Forward members to give up a small luxury item, like a cup of coffee, and donate that money instead to the campaign.